After the bullet train ride we went to our hotel at Kanzaiji Onsen where we had a traditional Japanese Kaiseki banquet.   Needless to say it was fabulous.  This is a hotel with traditional tatiami rooms.  Before we entered the dining room we had to remove our shoes  – the same with our room.  The dining room was beautiful. I felt I should change into nicer clothes before we sat down to eat.   Needless to say we had a wonderful meal and I would tell you all that we ate, but I have no idea what anything was except it was delicious.  Then we had a chance to soak in the therapeutic waters of a spa bath.  We had to go to the bath,  remove all of our clothes, shower and go into the water nude.  The water was very warm and felt great.   It was an experience way out of my comfort zone, but I would do it again in minute.  I should say the baths are separated by sex.  No men with the women and Vice versa.  I still feel great this morning.  Before we went to the bath we took off our clothes and put on the “pajamas” provided.  See pic.  I also took a pic of our room.  Marsha and I slept like babies.  It is almost time for breakfast again and another day of seeing this wonderful country.

Sorry pushed the wrong button.

From Mt Fuji we proceeded to Hakone an area with hot springs since this is an active volcanic area.  At at Hakone the water is boiling and the Japanese boil white eggs in the sulfuric water.  When the eggs are done the shells are black. We purchased some eggs because if you eat one you will live seven years longer.  There is a pic of Marsha taking a pic of her egg.  By the way when we got the eggs they were too hot to hold for long without burning our hands. This was all great fun.  We left this area by the “ropeway” which is a suspended gondola.

Then we boarded the bus to go to the Shinkansen bullet train.   We got to the train station and got our tickets.  The train ride was great, but waiting on the platform for the train was the most fun.  Several bullet trains sped through this station and it was better than drag racing.  There are so many pics I’ll have to continue on part 3.

it is 5am on day 3 when I am writing this.  We had an extremely busy day yesterday starting again with another huge buffet breakfast.   The flower arrangement was in the lobby of the hotel and made with real flowers.   We then boarded the bus to go towards Mt Fuji.  It was a long ride with a stop at a rest stop.  Then on to the Peace Park.  This place is beautiful with a great view of Mt Fuji.  The Peace Park has many temples and the grounds are just beautiful.  The Japanese are wonderful gardeners.  This short blurb does not due justice of the Peace Park.  We then continued on to Mt Fuji.  There was a lot of snow on the ground as we made our way up the mountain.  Of course it was very cold.   We stopped at a designated area to take pics from the mountain.

Of course on the way we had to stop for lunch.   I’ll send this portion and continue in part 2.

We spent the night at the hotel at the Narita Airport.  We had a huge breakfast buffet again.  All kinds of Japanese vegetables, egg drop soup, udon noodles, bacon, eggs and more.  All great food. Met our tour guide at 8am and boarded the bus for the day’s adventure. First stop was the Imperial Palace.  We stopped for photos and then back on the bus and on to the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Great museum even though everything was in Japanese.   The toilets at the museum have a button for music and it plays the sound of a toilet flushing.  These toilets are all high tech and all different that is why I  am taking so many pictures of them.

Next was lunch – sukiyaki-  there are pics and it was wonderful.  The restaurant was in a mall so of course there was some shopping involved.  Then back on the bus to the UenoPark to see cherry blossoms.  The trees are budding, but not yet blooming and it is very chilly.  We are hopeful they will bloom in a few days.  While in the park we were invited to attend something by women wearing kimonos.   See pic. We think it was for the Musem of Western Art.  The women invited us to sit and gave us a little cake.  See pic of half eaten cakes. Marsha went to take pics and the woman came and handed me a bowl of kelp tea.  I took a sip and it was awful and disgusting.  However to be polite I drank all of the tea(yuk).  The little cake was good and we discovered it was filled with red bean paste.  It was nice to see a group of ordinary women in their kimonos.  

We then went to the Asakusa Sensoji Temple to see the largest paper lantern.  We said a prayer in the Buddhist Temple and walked through a street mall to the largest paper lantern. We saw rickshaws by the temple and people were riding in them. It was windy and cold but on we went to Tokyo Tower.  It is similar to the Eiffel Tower in looks.  We went to the observation deck for picks.  Marsha and I took a selfie because we took a selfie on the Eiffel Tower.  Then back on the bus to check into our hotel for the night.  Once we settled in our room we went out looking for food.  We had a nice meal and by this time-10pm- we were tired.  We returned to our room for a goodnights sleep since we are going to Mt Fuji tomorrow.  I am writing this in the bus since I was too tired last night.

  More pics